Brienz Switzerland - Pass the buck to the weather for the drastic decline in passenger numbers says BRB Chairman Peter Flück.
 
The black figures, however, are due to the increase in frequencies and passengers.
 
"No, we are not expensive!", announced the Brienz Rothorn Bahn (BRB) in advance of the general meeting on 25 Apr 2015.
 
Obviously they wanted to give no breeding ground to BRB fears about ticket price adjustments.
 
That would involve a "decision based on the new forward strategy plan", says the press release.
 
Despite the decline in passengers, the result of rising income is better.
 
Fewer guests with better results, we came to this conclusion exactly one year ago.
 
Even so, with a declining number of promotions there was a simultaneous increase in earnings.
 
Powerless Before the Lousy Weather
 
In the two months of July and August 2014, BRB carried 22 percent fewer guests than in 2013.
 
These figures underline how the BRB operation is really affected by the weather.
 
Peter Flück, Chairman of the Board, confirms:  "It's such that the Brienz Rothorn, even with all its attractiveness, against lousy weather as in July and August, we are powerless."
 
But from start to end of the season there were "great train frequencies".
 
The passenger count fell in 2014 by 1,455 people (in total 123,311 persons) which corresponds to a total decline of 1.2 percent.
 
More and More Steam Train Rides
 
The trip-free winter months influenced the BRB season results in 2014.
 
The train frequencies that the locomotives have already seen early in the season shows they are technically in excellent condition.
 
"So it became possible, thanks to the commitment in its own workshops, the amount of steam operation, to the delight of the guests, was raised by 7.5 percent to an impressive 91.1 percent," the BRB said in the statement.
 
Without the steam friends who were "on track" in 2014 this would not have been possible.
 
"The support of generous patrons is indispensable for us," writes President Peter Flück in the annual report.

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